Conventionally, as an etching method that processes a surface of a target object by corroding the surface of the target object by a corrosive, a method is known that includes a resist forming step for forming a resist on the surface of the target object using resist liquid, such as oleoresinous liquid, ultraviolet curing resinous liquid and the like, by ink jet printing the resist liquid on the surface of the target object, a surface corroding step for corroding a portion of the surface of the target object where the resist is not formed by bringing the corrosive into contact with a surface side of the target object where the resist has been formed by the resist forming step, and a resist detaching step for detaching the resist from the surface of the target object after the surface corroding step (see Patent Document 1).